The move comes after reports that majority of foreign nationals staying in Nepal on business visas have made ´business´ as an excuse to stay here for longer and carry out other activities. Republica in its July 22 edition had carried a news report about misuse of business visas.[break]
DOI Director General Madhav Raj Regmi said they recently wrote a letter asking the Department of Industry to make sure that foreign nationals staying in Nepal on business visa are genuinely into the said businesses before recommending visa renewal.
The letter was written after documents accompanying a visa renewal recommendation by Department of Industry showed that there was no transaction made. "We wrote the letter asking for reasons for renewing visas if the foreign nationals have not made any investment at all," said Regmi.
While tax clearance documents show that both transactions amount and taxable amount are zero, the Department of Industry has been found reporting that the business or industry is in operation. "This is something contradictory," said Regmi. "There must be some investment made if the business is indeed in operation."
According to DOI, there are a total 4,884 foreign nationals living in Nepal on non-tourist visa. A majority of those acquiring business visas have acquired them purportedly for running hotels, restaurants, software outsourcing businesses, travel, tour and courier businesses, among others.
As per the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act 2049 BS, the Department of Industry needs to write a recommendation letter for business visas for foreign nationals who have registered their companies at the Company Registrar´s Office, following approval of their business plans. This is renewed each year as on the recommendation of the Department of Industry following an inspection visit to the business.
Altogether 1,647 businesses or industrial ventures have been registered in the country so far in the name of foreign nationals. Of these, 150 were registered during nine months of fiscal year 2005/06 alone. Officials admit that a majority of them have not come into operation as yet.
Sadly, there is hardly a case where the Department of Industry refuses to recommend extending a visa as foreign nationals easily bribe officials, sources said. Department officials make recommendations without any inspection visit to the business or industrial undertaking in question, the sources said.
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